Dec. 10--SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Steve Vasturia's demeanor showed no doubt.
The Notre Dame sophomore guard grabbed the rebound on defense, dribbled down to the other end of the floor, picked out his spot on the left wing behind the 3-point line and drilled the shot.
It was that kind of confidence and assertiveness on offense coach Mike Brey has been looking for from Vasturia, a starter who scored a career-high 19 points Tuesday as the Irish trounced Mount St. Mary's 93-67 at Purcell Pavilion. Jerian Grant and Zach Auguste also had 19 for the Irish (9-1), who won their fifth straight.
There may have been a reason for Vasturia's confidence against Mount St. Mary's (2-5) on Tuesday -- he couldn't miss. He shot 7-for-7 from the field and the victory marked Vasturia's third straight game in double figures.
"This is a process with him we started about 10 days ago to stop playing so safe," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "Go for it a little bit. And we've created a monster."
For Vasturia, hearing coaches and teammates telling him to be aggressive built up his confidence over the last two weeks with the results starting to become evident.
"I'm just picking my spots," Vasturia said. "Having the confidence (of my teammates) is big, and I'm trying to make shots when I have the opportunity."
Vasturia is a steady and smart player who won't take many risks but has a soft touch and an ability to get to the rim off the dribble. He's also an asset for the Irish defensively and someone Brey trusts to put on the other team's top scoring threats.
One of the upsides to the Irish's struggles last season was that Vasturia received heavy minutes as a freshman and that playing time accelerated his development coming into this season. Vasturia averaged five points in 23.1 minutes per game last season.
"He's just so sound," Brey said. "He's so dependable defensively. And now that he's not playing as safe (offensively) it's really helping us play more explosive."
The way Vasturia sees it, Notre Dame has two primary shot-creators in Grant and point guard Demetrius Jackson. Vasturia has to complement them, and do it on a more consistent basis.
"Jerian and Demetrius get us a lot of open shots and we have the confidence to knock them down," Vasturia said. "It's my job to make those shots."
He was perfect Tuesday.
chine@tribpub.com
Twitter @ChristopherHine
